Small group rallies outside East Middle School to support student who sits during Pledge

A small crowd of citizens gathered at East Middle School to discuss the allegations of abuse of student Stone Cheney.
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Rev. John Burns of First A.M.E. Church in Farmington Hills, speaks with school board member Mark Przeslawski, Kelly Carpenter-Crawfrod and Maddi Carpenter Crawford, in front of East Middle School.(Photo11: Bill Bresler | hometownlife.com)Buy Photo

The national story surrounding the Pledge of Allegiance made its way Monday morning to a small group of supporters outside East Middle School in Farmington Hills.

A group rallied to support Stone Chaney, a sixth-grader at the school, who said a teacher recently pulled him out of his seat while he was sitting during the Pledge of Allegiance, an action he's said he's done for years.

The issue at the school, 25000 Middlebelt, came to light last week.

Kelly Carpenter Crawford, parent of a student at East Middle School, stood outside the building hold a sign that read, "We support Stone and the Chaney family. We support Farmington Public Schools."

"I'm going to let my sign speak for myself," she said. "I think we can have both. It's not an either/or."

The rally, which was originally planned for Sunday, appeared to have far fewer than expected attend. It appeared there were more Farmington Hills police officers in the area than protesters.

The teacher involved in the incident has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation from the school district.

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East Middle School students and parents begin a new school day.(Photo11: Bill Bresler | hometownlife.com)

The Rev. John Burns, pastor at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Farmington Hills, came to stand outside the school Monday to help further understanding with the issue and help spark a dialogue instead of an argument.

"When incidents like this come, my concern is that we're not turning it into a circus and we're not pouring gas on an ember," he said. "But that we engage one another."

Mark Przeslawski, a member of the Farmington Public Schools Board of Education, stood outside of the building with parents. He said he was there to make it known the district is one that celebrates different cultures and beliefs and that the incident remains under investigation by the district administration.

"It was being investigated and it was brought to the board's attention by the father at the board meeting on Tuesday. We hadn't completed our investigations," he said. "At the core of all of this, did the teachers mistreat the kids?"